U.S. Sees Jump In Anti-Semitic Attacks In 2015

Anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased in 2015, with the number of violent attacks jumping from 36 in 2014 to 56 in 2015, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports.

According to the ADL report for 2015, a total of 941 reported anti-Semitic attacks were recorded in the U.S., compared to 912 in 2014. The incidents included physical assaults, vandalism, harassment, and threats. Specific attacks included Hassidic Jews being fired at with paintballs and air rifles while on their way to synagogue, and statements like “Jews should go back to Auschwitz. Hitler was right.”

Another troubling finding: Anti-Semitic incidents at colleges and universities nearly doubled last year. A total of 90 incidents were reported on 60 college campuses in 2015, compared with 47 incidents on 43 campuses in 2014.

Campus anti-Semitic incidents accounted for 10 percent of the total incidents reported in the U.S. in 2015.

Moreover, says ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt, “We know that for every incident reported, there’s likely another that goes unreported. So even as the total incidents have remained statistically steady from year to year, the trend toward anti-Semitic violence is very concerning.”